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Subhumans At The Observatory: Old Songs, New Decade, Same Problems
Jessica Moncrief
September 20, 2016
If you think punk’s dead, then you don’t know Dick! From Wiltshire pubs in 1980 to present day Southern California clubs, Subhumans have been consistent with inciting anarchy and pushing their non-conformist ideals for over 36 years. Friday night’s packed Subhumans show at The Observatory was a great representation of this, with a multi generational crowd ranging from 2 to 70 years of age. Seeing the varying age groups really put the Subhuman’s history into perspective. The elders of the punk scene seemed to be rehashing teenage nostalgia while newcomers simultaneously were experiencing this punk rock rite of passage for the first time. Subhumans were also joined by Kicker and Raukuous on this tour. related content: OG’s, Toddlers and Whiskey for The Weirdos and Adolescents With all the perils of the world and an exceptionally ridiculous election season, so many feel like the world is more fucked now than it ever has been. Truth is, it’s always been fucked! As Dick Lucas segways his songs through short political rants covering everything from wage inequality, animal rights, racism, and of course the evil two party system governing America, I couldn’t help but think how his shows were probably very much the
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Pussy Bang Bang Grindhouse Burlesque Show Grinds On Harvelle’s Long Beach
Jessica Moncrief
September 8, 2016
The first night of a 3 part residency at Harvelle’s in Long Beach went off with a BANG! A Pussy Bang Bang that is! The Pussy Bang Bang Grindhouse Burlesque Show is the brainchild of performer/model/actress/producer Olivia Bellafontaine. She has incorporated cult classic grindhouse movies, punk rock, sin and beautiful women to create a tantalizing and visually stimulating experience. Each sexy act throughout the night was inspired by movies such as Planet Terror, Death Proof, Jackie Brown and more. Clips from classic and more recent grindhouse films were projected on screen in the background while the performers danced to The Misfits, The Stooges and other bad ass punk bands. One stand out performance was “nunsploitation” inspired, where the performer brilliantly executes the story of a nun who succumbs to the temptations of sin. During a brief intermission, audience members were blown away by a guest appearance by Heather Henderson, as she belted out a stellar rendition of “96 Tears” by Question Mark and the Mysterians. And then it was back to the gyrations, gesticulations and anatomical manipulations. I wouldn’t call this feminism but then again, it seemed quite empowering for the women on the stage. Harvelle’s is a speakeasy style
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The Sonics Teach Garage Rock History 101 at The Observatory
Jessica Moncrief
August 22, 2016
In 1960, a band of kids heavily inspired by 50’s R&B, formed The Sonics with no clue that more than 50 years later, they would actually be the inspiration for modern day rock n roll power houses and music enthusiasts around the world. In 1964, The Sonics were signed by Etiquette Records and released their first (and wildly popular) single, “The Witch”. Even though its radio airplay was restricted, “The Witch” went on to become the biggest selling local single in the history of the Northwest. Between ’65 and ’67, The Sonics released three studio albums: “Here Are The Sonics”, “Boom”, and “Introducing the Sonics”. Their covers of songs by artists such as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, The Fabulous Wailers and Richard Berry gained the boys national attention, however, the real standout tracks were their original hits such as “The Witch”, “Boss Hoss”, “Psycho”, “Cinderella”, “Shot Down” & “Strychnine,” which gained them a true cult following. The 60’s were a great era for music, but no one did it quite like The Sonics. They screamed louder and played faster and harder than anyone else at that time. Their recording style, performance, and lyrics would usher in a new age of
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Berserktown 3: The Craziest Festival on Earth
Rob Shepyer
August 18, 2016
2016 is the year everyone decided to step it up. Sound and Fury rolled out to the Regent, Beach Goth bounced to Oaks Canyon Park, Desert Daze doubled down to the Institute of Mental Physics, and the fest that I attended this past weekend, Berserktown 3 raided and shut down the Teragram Ballroom. Berserktown 2: Music Fringe Binge at the Observatory Beach Goth 4: The Party of the Year Desert Daze 2015: The Festival for the 21st Century I see every festival like it’s a good friend trying to impose their music on you with a mixtape of a bunch of bands you’ve never heard of but Berserktown is the best one of those friends that knows all the right bands to show any punk with (dis)tasteful sensibility. The lineup is handpicked with acts that are hard to see anywhere in the world, all of completely different genres. Where else can I see Parisian Oi, Mexican darkwave, death rock from Nuke York, experimental noise out of England, punk rock legends from Belgium, and Sweden’s Brainbombs all in one weekend? With so much range, creativity and originality spewing out of Berserktown, I couldn’t help but wonder if some future genius was
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Thee Oh Sees Slay Teragram Ballroom Night Before Album Drops/Tour
Danny Baraz
August 16, 2016
Is there anyone in independent music that has more going for them than John Dwyer and his band, Thee Oh Sees? In an industry that has been turned upside down, Dwyer and others such as Ty Segall have been successfully proving out the new business model for musical acts that aren’t corporate concoctions of sterile art, ripened just right for commercial licensing. Indy bands have proven that there is a demand for raw and innovative rock and roll, even as it disappears almost completely from the mainstream. Indy bands have proven that there is still a dream to be chased that can sustain their lives and compulsion to create with hard work and an untiring proliferation and output. On Thursday night, Thee Oh Sees threw a party at The Teragram Ballroom the night before their new album, A Weird Exits dropped and the night before they left on an extended tour of Europe that includes a backend leg in the US. While many bands might be content in taking the night off before a three month tour, whether John Dwyer wanted to brush up on some of the new tracks or he just wanted another stack of chips to add
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The Headliners Rule at Outside Lands 2016
Danny Baraz
August 12, 2016
In the year of our lord, 2016, I attended my first Outside Lands inside the crunchy granola confines of Golden Gate Park. I have been experiencing much Bay Area festival envy in the preceding years so I rectified it by attending this year’s Burger Boogaloo in Oakland and I attended my very first Outside Lands last week . Even though this year’s Outside Lands lineup didn’t blow me away, I decided that I needed a change of scenery, a change from the jaded, L.A. crowds and… of course… RADIOHEAD! No Live Nation or Goldenvoice. No 100 degree weather. No rubber necking, celebrity duck sicking or friends plus 1 on the guest listing. No Native American Head Dressing anywhere to be seen. Don’t get me wrong; I have nothing but love for my birthplace in the mecca of entertainment but sometimes familiarity brings comfort and sometimes, it breeds contempt. Aside from the persistence of seeing San Francisco Giants apparel everywhere I looked, I’ve always loved the folks I’ve met and become fast friends with in San Fran and Oakland. Just wondering if it’s coincidence that the only real jerk offs I’ve met up there happen to be rocking VaGiants gear. Someone
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Dirty Penni Fest: A Rock and Roll Romper Room For Young and Old
Paige Vreede
July 27, 2016
Los Angeles is a mecca for DIY events, especially in the Summer and this past Saturday Penniback Records and Dirty Laundry TV teamed up to put on hybrid “Dirty Penni Fest”, at you guessed it, The a Echo and The Echoplex. Teenagers would get nine hours of freedom and independence with headlining acts such as Cherry Glazerr, No Parents, and Guantanamo Baywatch. But it wasn’t just the youths who were permitted to have a good time… Mike Watt and the Missing Men were also on the bill. Whaaaaaat?! When I was first asked to cover it, I honestly approached my editor with great hesitancy in agreeing to spend an entire day drenched in 18-year-old sweat. Most of the aversion I have with these type of events is a bi-product of me getting older, music festivals increasing popularity and my progressively shortened temper to be around nihilistic teens. Alas, I agreed to it anyhow, and holy shit I am glad I did. Though there were some incredible bands that kicked off the shenanigans at noon, I knew if I had arrived early, by the time the headlining acts were to go on I would be too exhausted to care or too drunk
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Annual Low End Theory Festival Spreads L.A. Wildfire Into Shrine Auditorium
Danny Baraz
July 25, 2016
A radioactive, orange, spherical fiery orb in the sky hung just below a thick, impenetrable blanket of ash and dust from the sand fires burning the Angeles National Forrest, just 30 miles outside of Los Angeles. The distant wild fire choked my lungs and burned my eyes as I navigated the streets of South L.A. to enter the Shrine Auditorium for the third annual Low End Theory Festival in 2016. But even with the safety of distance from the flames, the most important beat collective in the world gets LIT af everytime they get together to dance and blaze and spark the imagination by pushing the envelope of sound, rhythm and rhyme. Whether you are a regular at Low End Theory’s home base on Wednesday’s at The Airliner in Lincoln Heights or you attended the festival because Wu-tang MC’s Ghostface Killah and Raekwon were at the top of the bill, you were a part of a movement that is shaping the future of music. It was clear, immediately, that attendance was down from the previous year’s sold out festival but it is no commentary on any type of waning influence. Last year, Low End Theory booked widely respected and beloved cross
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In the Red Records’ 25th Anniversary Party: Weekend at Larry’s
Rob Shepyer
July 18, 2016
A quarter century ago, Larry Hardy formed In the Red Records in Los Angeles, California to release garage and punk records for an underground that is thriving now more than ever. Some call this scene the garage rock revival, in which case In the Red Records was the scene’s Lazarus. So with 25 years of releasing music ranging from down tuned stoner rock to twangy blues garage, from bands in Los Angeles to Detroit, Portland and NYC, how does Larry Hardy decide to celebrate? A three night festival taking The Echo and Echoplex hostage to host a slew of bands spanning In the Red’s sonic history. As soon as I crept down those pissed stained stairs from Sunset to Glendale blvd and checked in, it was nonstop rock. Wounded Lion’s party rock launched the festivities and loosened me up for the debauchery to come. Dancing and prancing around the stage, cramming the jams down our throats, I picked up a sweat bouncing and bobbing and dashed out the Echo down to its bottom-bitch Siamese sister venue. A man eyeballed me suspiciously and asked for my papers, so I showed him my Zig Zags. Zig Zags were the first of many
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White Lung and Plague Vendor Whip Crowd Into Frenzy at Teragram Ballroom
Michelle Hernandez
July 11, 2016
On Friday night at The Teragram Ballroom, fans swerved right into the impulsive energy of Whitter, California’s own, Plague Vendor, opening for badasses, White Lung. The band kicked their tour off right in the pit of Downtown Los Angeles, serving up the tastiest tracks from Plague Vendor’s new album, Bloodsweat. There was no blood in sight but there was plenty of sweat splattered on stage. I still get euphoric flashbacks of singer Brandon Blaine’s performance, shaking his chest, thrusting his hips and whipping his hair around. No doubt he is a mad and sexy genius. Plague Vendor was opening for the almighty White Lung but I was there to see PV. High Functioning Flesh also played and are included in our gallery below. I took a look around at the crowd and noted that there was a majority in the audience; T-shirts with the Bloodsweat album cover on them, spread out in the cluster of people. And if they weren’t already fans then they sure as hell left that night new fans. The lights transitioned to red. Brandon Blaine entered and a score of applause welcomed him. With no words exchanged between band mates, drummer Luke Perine started the show with the
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Burger Boogaloo 2016: Bringing Rare Vinyl Back to Life For 7 Years
Danny Baraz
July 1, 2016
There are many metaphors I could employ to describe what it was like to attend the annual Burger Boogaloo festival in Oakland for my first time, in the year of our Lord, 2016. It’s like going through your mom and dad’s moth-balled wardrobe from 1968 and realizing that you just hit the mother load of cyclical fashion. It was always there. It was just up to you to open that garage, suspend that disbelief that your parents were actually cool at some point in their lives and try it on to see if it fits. It seems that no matter how far technology advances or what new platforms are developed in Silicon Valley to deliver music and culture to the masses, new generations will always dust off old vinyl and make it new again. To transform themselves into a time that seems simpler than their own and to long for the good old days that they didn’t even exist in. Afterall, it is an American teenagers right of passage to be completely disenchanted with the here and now and it is the aging hipsters prerogative to revisit the haunts of their youth. All of these sentiments converge, year after year,
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King Khan and The Shrines Bring Fans to Their Knees at Echoplex
Janky Smooth Central Command
June 30, 2016
Have you ever seen an overweight Canadian/East Indian, with bleach blonde hair, screaming into a microphone about how he wants to be a girl and how he don’t regret a thing? I have, last night at The Echoplex. And it was good. The King…King Khan…King Khan & The Shrines. It was great to see the larger than life performance of Khan performing with The Shrines. Khan has been touring in support of King Khan and the BBQ Show and their record, Bad News Boys since the genius LP was released in 2015. And while the minimal nature of the Khan/Mark Sultan duo has captivated fans over the past year, the over the top gospel-funkiness of Khan being backed by the Shrines is it’s very own beast that needs to feed, every so often. I got to the show late and was able to catch a bit of the weirdest band, Giorgio Murderer, who absolutely killed it with their throbbing, melodic distortion blasting through the speakers like Man or Astro Man. I waited with my girlfriend in anticipation for the main event. King Khan did not disappoint. His ten-piece band, complete with sequins and capes, and all sorts of tomfoolery, were
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